Richardson shooting suspect "wanted to go to war with police"

The man accused of fatally shooting his friend and a Richardson police officer admitted that he “wanted to go to war with police,” according to a newly-released arrest warrant.

Brandon De McCall, 26, is charged with the capital murder of Richardson PD Officer David Sherrard, 37. He has yet to be formally charged with the murder of his friend, 30-year-old Rene Gamez. Family members say Gamez offered McCall a place to stay for a few days when he had nowhere else to go.

Officers described the standoff on February 7 as an ambush. They said they were being baited and hunted by the gunman.

Richardson officers responded to the Breckinridge Apartments around 7 p.m. that night after several 911 calls about a man yelling and sounds of a gunshot. One person told dispatch he heard a person say, “I’m dying.”

When officers arrived they found Gamez lying in blood with a gunshot wound in front of his apartment. First responders tried to save him, but he died at the scene.

A group of seven Richardson police officers entered the apartment where the suspected gunman was. Officer Sherrard entered first and was shot by McCall within 6 seconds of entering the apartment, according to the arrest warrant.

As Sherrard ran back outside after being shot, the other officers exchanged gunfire with McCall and took cover.

“It looked like he was hunting us,” one officer said in a statement to investigators. He recalled seeing McCall down the hallway in a prone position with an AR-15 rifle equipped with a scope.

“At that moment, it was clear this was an ambush,” another responding officer recalled. “It the suspect continued to fire at me trying to kill me.”

“I immediately felt trapped,” another officer said. “For a second, I thought I might have no choice but to move forward towards the suspect who seemed determined on killing officers.”

In statements to investigators, officers said McCall tried to draw them in by moaning as if he was hurt. But when officers tried to look down the hall, “he would fire more rounds at us as if he was baiting us."

With the help of SWAT, officers left the apartment and began negotiating with McCall. Sherrard was taken to a hospital where he died.

McCall eventually surrendered hours later just before midnight. He continually yelled “I’m sorry” as he was taken away.

When being questioned by detectives, McCall said his gun accidentally discharged when he was using it as a crutch as he said goodbye to Gamez. McCall said he shot at police officers to make them go away and “because I wanted to.”

While in jail, he made two phone calls. During one phone call, he told the other person on the line that he shot at officers because he “wanted to go to war with police.”

The entire shootout was captured on the officers’ body cameras, which police have not released. The affidavit says the cameras dispute McCall's claim that officers fired first.

According to the arrest warrant, Officer Sherrard's finger wasn't even on the trigger when he was shot. Officers didn't fire until after he was shot.